Illini vs. Hoosiers: Battle of the ‘unhappies’

Loren Tate, Tatelines

Published 6:00 am, Friday, January 6, 2017

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Illini vs. Hoosiers: Battle of the ‘unhappies’

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Call Saturday’s UI-IU contest a showdown of the “unhappies.” Indiana basketball fans, stubbornly hanging onto the Bob Knight era, just watched their candy stripers fall to Wisconsin for the 16th time in 18 meetings, marking the team’s third straight loss on Hoosier soil.

Even when they win, it’s “in spite of Tom Crean,” as they point to turnovers, defensive shortcomings and, “For goodness sakes, how can we lose to Fort Wayne, and can’t we get more out of Thomas Bryant?”

So you can imagine who gets the blame when they fall out of the Top 25.

One IU customer, overlooking their Big Ten championship last season — when Crean was named Big Ten Coach of the Year — maintains a website displaying a countdown to July 2017 when Crean’s buyout decreases from $4 million to $1 million. July marks the beginning of the 10th year of his lucrative 12-year deal.

And then there’s Illini Nation. It is tilting from unhappy toward apathetic. A decent 11-4 record is marred by disruptive collapses against West Virginia (89-57) and Maryland (84-59), and concerns over Saturday’s return to the scene of a 103-69 debacle last season.

Illinois hasn’t won in Bloomington since 2010, when Crean was trying to haul the Hoosiers out of Kelvin Sampson’s mess. Whatever the impediments, IU is resilient. Indiana is a basketball school. The joke that Illinois is a “golf school” has more truth to it than Illinoisans would prefer.

Disgruntled fans can have an impact. They can leave empty seats and send angry messages to the athletic director. Given the vote, fans would fire two-thirds of their coaches today, including some who are winners.

But there’s nothing to be gained by heavy decision-making in early January. At Illinois, where life on the NCAA tournament bubble has frustrated the faithful, John Groce appears isolated from the noise and seemingly tunes it out. He appeared agitated when questioned about fan discomfort but quickly changed the subject.

Athletic director Josh Whitman put it in the only terms he could when he responded in a WDWS interview that “we’re in the middle of the season … right now my only concern is what I can do to help … we can’t let ourselves be bogged down by negativism … if you’re excited and want to be part of it, we welcome you.”

Repeating: Decisions aren’t appropriate at this time (well, actually, South Florida just fired former John Calipari aide Orlando Antigua, promoting former UAB coach Murry Bartow). So, yes, things happen. And ADs keep an eye out for potential replacements, keeping the list more secretive than Donald Trump’s tax returns.

At this point in history, there are significant differences between Illinois and Indiana. The Hoosiers own two Big Ten titles and three Sweet 16 appearances under Crean, draw packed houses and remain a national recruiting draw. If Crean was gone, IU would have its pick from an elite group of candidates.

Illinois was 15-19 last season with a 10-year record of 79-99 in the Big Ten and just two first-round NCAA wins throughout a decade in which attendance has slipped, and the program has lost touch with premier Chicagoland prospects.

Based on its last two hirings and the current mood, Illinois appears to have misplaced some of its drawing power. Meanwhile, the intense nature of Indiana basketball is deemed strong enough to perhaps turn the head of satisfied Top 25 members like Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, Creighton’s Greg McDermott, Xavier’s Chris Mack, Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams or even Baylor’s Scott Drew (will Baylor be No. 1 Monday?).

Billy Donovan isn’t leaving Oklahoma City, but if he did …. And if you listen to Hoosier followers, the innate attractiveness of the program might entice Brad Stevens from Boston. This is the same Stevens who would not leave Butler for Illinois in 2012.

A so-called “big name,” having located the key to success elsewhere, would be hard to budge. Nor would he guarantee success, as we see with Shaka Smart at Texas. Smart, who at VCU reportedly rejected Illini overtures (he took VCU to the Final Four in 2011), is 7-7 and struggling with losses to Northwestern and Michigan and, more recently, to Kent State and Kansas State.

A winning reputation certainly has its advantages. However, in January, this kind of speculation is simply more padding for parrot droppings.

Polly want a cracker?

Loren Tate writes for the (Champaign) News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.